Sensex, Nifty Set To Open Higher As OPEC Talks End Without Deal

RTTNews

Dec. 6, 2018, 09:53 PM

(RTTNews) - Indian shares may open higher on Friday after OPEC ended talks in Vienna without a deal on oil production cuts and the Wall Street Journal said the Federal Reserve might adopt a wait-and-see approach on future rate increases.

That said, with Rajasthan and Telangana going to polls today and the results of polls in five states expected next week, the underlying tone may remain somewhat cautious.

U.S crude futures extended declines in Asian trade after ending down 2.7 percent on Thursday, as OPEC ended talks without a deal on oil production cuts for the first time in nearly five years.

"No, I am not confident. We are still debating the distribution," Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih told reporters after coming out of the meeting.

The dollar held weak after the release of mixed economic data on private sector employment, initial jobless claims, trade balance and service sector activity.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty tumbled 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent respectively on Thursday while the rupee dropped by 44 paise to close at 70.90 against the dollar.

Asian stocks are up modestly this morning as hopes that the Fed will raise rates very slowly helped offset concerns that a prolonged trade war between the two countries will significantly slow down global economic growth.

U.S. stocks fell overnight as the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei rekindled trade worries. However, markets ended well off their day's lows after reports that the Fed might consider easing the pace of rate increases.

The Dow fell by nearly 800 points to its lowest intraday level in over a month before ending the day down by just 79.40 points or 0.3 percent at 24,947.67. The S&P 500 edged down 0.2 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent.

European markets tumbled on Thursday to log their worst single-day loss in 2 1/2-years amid fears of slowing global growth, falling oil prices and skepticism about the potential for a long-term trade agreement between the U.S. and China.